Article-carrying device



April 10, 1962 s. H. I oEB 3,028,974

ARTICLE-CARRYING DEVICE Filed Aug. s1, 1960 FIG.|.

5 E? 5 fz j v if J 'fiiiallglnm Immun-num `illlaullllllvl mum-umn i L (T4.. FleaT 10 a 5 1f d t@ w w b1@ V 9 FIGA' INVENTOR an@ 7/ 1Z"""""` ffFIGS. AT ORN" United States Patent 'C 3,028,974 ARTICLE-CARRYING DEVICEStephen H. Loeb, 4 Faunridge Court, St. Louis County, Mo. Filed Aug. 31,1960, Ser. No. 53,170 3 Claims. (Cl. 2l1113) This invention relates toimprovements in an articlecarrying device, but more especially to such adevice that is most convenient for use by detachably suspending from analready installed elongated rod, such as is found for instance in theusual form of household clothes closet.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to so construct such ladevice that it will occupy about the same space as do the usual coathangers for use in such a closet, and yet will permit of carrying amultiplicity of individual articles therefrom, and wherein any of saidarticles may be selectively removed from the device after movement ofsaid article to adjacent the front of said closet.

Another object of my invention is to so construct such a device with anendless belt that is movable thereon and which may be manually shiftedwhile in said closet or the like, to bring any desired one of thearticles to the front of the closet for ready removal from the device,or for the purpose of inspection.

A further object of the invention is to so construct such a device withrotatable rollers at its ends and about which said belt is movablymounted, said belt provided with resilient clips at predeterminedintervals longitudinally therealong, said clips being so designed thatthey will not be deformed through passing over said rollers.

Still another object of my invention is to so construct such a devicethat the attaching means associated therewith for suspending the devicefrom the elongated clothes rod will grip the latter with suicient forceand contact to prevent accidental pivoting of said device about saidrod, even though the device is unevenly loaded.

Added objects of the invention are to make such a device relativelylight in weight, inexpensive, neat and compact in appearance, durable,mountable and releasable from one place to another, long-lasting, andthat will be otherwise efficient and satisfactory for use wherever foundapplicable.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown anddescribed, and the uses mentioned, will be obvious to those skilled inthe art to which this invention appcrtains, all as will be more clearlyevident from the disclosures hereinafter given.

To this end, my invention consists in the novel construction,arrangement, combination and form of parts as herein shown and describedand as will be more completely pointed out in the speciication andclaims hereunto appended.

In the drawings, wherein like or corresponding parts are represented bylike reference characters throughout the views, y

FIGURE l is a perspective View showing the device as hung in a clothescloset, only a fragment of the closet being indicated;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the device as clamped on aclothes rod;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the carrier device;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the same, taken substantiallyalong the line 4--4 of FIG. 2; and

FIGURE S is an enlarged fragmentary detail, taken substantially alongthe line 5--5 of FIG. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein I have illustrateda preferred embodiment of my invention, 1 indicates the region whereinmy article-carrying device is most likely to be installed, as forinstance, in an ordinary clothes closet of the home, said closet nearlyalways being shallow, just about deep enough to have the usualsized coathanger 2 detachably suspended on an elongated rod 3 that is carriedbetween the opposite ends of the closet. Normally, such hangers must beplaced on said rod and removed therefrom, from adjacent the front ofsaid closet.

My article-carrying device is so constructed that it may be mounted onand removed from the rod in a manner similar to the manipulation of saidcoat hangers, thatfis, from in front of the closet, and is so shaped andsized that it will occupy about the same space as is occupied by thecoat hangers ordinarily carried on said rod.

In the form shown, I have constructed said device with an elongated bar4 of sufficiently sturdy material that will not sag when fully loadedwith the full complement of individual articles to be carried, said baradapted to extend substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axisof the rofl when mounted on the latter.

Some form of clamping means, as for instance the spring means 5 iscarried by said bar and is provided with a pair of oppositely facingjaw'elernents 6--6 that are preferably lined with rubber 7 or othersuitably resiliently elastic material, each of said jaws preferablyshaped as a V so as to grip the latter at several points when said jawsare sprung onto said rod, such gripping being with sufficient force asto prevent any accidental tilting or pivotal swing of the device aboutsaid rod. Thus, although it might sometimes happen that more of the loadis carried by said bar, to one side of its mid-length, than is carriedto the other side, the firm clamping of said bar to said rod willprevent such tilting, and will retain the bar substantially horizontallymounted.

At each end of said bar a roller 8 is rotatably mounted, in thisinstance depending from said har and carried by a dowel 9 or axle fixedin place on said bar, the length of said rollers being such as will bestaccommodate an articlecarrying belt 10.

This belt is preferably endless and is of any suitable material bestserving its purpose, as for instance, of cloth or of plastic, of suchlength as to extend lengthwise of said bar and be received over the endrollers 88, having suicient tension or frictional engagement with thelatter so that a lengthwise pull on said belt at any point will actuatethe belt to travel lengthwise about said bar, as indicated.

Spring clips 11, 11 are carried by said belt at selectivelypredetermined intervals therealong, said clips being attached' at one oftheir ends to said belt and extending substantially horizontally towardtheir free ends, said clips being of a length that is found best able tocarry the speciiic articles for which the device is intended, as forinstance the neckties indicated. The clips are sufficiently resilient toenable them to be sprung by their free ends, away from said belt and toretrieve themselves to their original relationship upon release of saidactuating force.

Although said clips may be separately formed and then mounted on saidbelt, I have shown them as formed integrally with the latter, and ifbelieved desirable they m-ay be suitably reinforced as shown at 12 tobetter enable them to carry their load for a long service.

Obviously, when the device as so constructed is suspeuded in theordinary clothes closet, it will occupy about the same space as that ofthe usual coat hanger therein, and will permit of selectively choosingany one of the multiplicity of the articles carried by the device,simply by manually actuating the belt to cause it to travel past thefront of the closet, within full view of the operator standing in frontof the closet, and from whence the operator may extract any one of thearticles from the front end of the carrier.

It is hardly thought necessary to add that other articles than necktiesmay be carried on the device, as for instance belts, necklaces, etc.,andfurther that the device may be t 3 suspended in places other thanclosets, and in fact, in any place wherein it is desired to store ordisplay a multiplicity of generally elongated articles for selectivedismounting one by one, as needed.

I claim:

1. A device for detachably carrying a plurality of articles forselective removal and adapted to be hung on a supporting rod, saiddevice comprising an elongated bar, means for detachahly hanging saidbar from said rod and constituting the sole support for said device,with said bar substantially at right angles to said rod, rollerspositioned on the ends of said bar and of approximately the samediameter as the thickness of the latter so as to occupy a minimum oftransverse space, an endless belt mounted on and between said rollersand shiftably movable lengthwise of said bar, and clips longitudinallyspaced apart on said belt and each adapted to releasably carry one ofsaid articles for selective removal of the latter from any one of saidclips.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that saidmeans that detachably hangs said bar on said rod clamps said bar to saidrod includes spring clips with yieldably compressible bar-engaging facesthat grip said bar with sufficient force to prevent accidental pivotalmovement of the bar about said rod.

3. A device for detachably carrying a plurality of articles forselective removal therefrom and adapted to be hung on a rod in arelatively shallow enclosure, said device comprising an elongated bar, aclamp for non-rotatably mounting said bar on said rod and constitutingthe single support for said bar, with said bar extending substantiallyat right angles to the length of said rod, rollers of approximately thediameter of the bar thickness carried at the opposite ends of said bar,an endless belt mounted on said rollers so that the opposed faces ofsaid belt are relatively close together to movably travel lengthwise ofthe bar, and spring clips spaced at intervals along said belt and eachadapted to frictionally releasably hold one of said articles on saidbelt and permit selective removal of any one of said articles from oneend of said bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS830,804 Schoenebeck Sept. 11, 1906 928,980 Kaufman July 27, 19092,608,306 Mins Aug. 26, 1952 2,638,301 Smith May l2, 1953

